In Brief
Two appellants and three others were convicted of causing hurt (Section 325 read with 149 IPC) arising from a neighbourhood dispute over drainage rights. The trial court imposed three years rigorous imprisonment; the High Court enhanced it to five years. The appellants claimed parity with the three co-accused, who were released on probation due to extreme old age. The Supreme Court held that equal roles do not mandate equal sentences and that special circumstances justify differential treatment. Finding the five-year sentence disproportionate to the trivial genesis of the dispute and the inability to attribute the victim's head injury to any specific accused, the Court reduced the sentence to three years, while maintaining convictions and fines.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.